Cragmama

Jun 23 2014

Though I suppose summer has only “officially” been here for a few days, the thermometer outside certainly says otherwise! And as the temperatures (and humidity, ugh!) have risen slowly but surely this past month, we’ve had to get a little more creative with our babywearing. You see, while I’m a big fan of all of the benefits that come from keeping baby in snuggly, skin to skin contact with mom, I am NOT a fan of the sweltering sweat fest it creates during the warmer months. Warm and fuzzy turns into hot and stinky in a heartbeat, which can be unpleasant for both the wear-er and the wear-ee.

I was especially concerned about how babywearing would go in and around water, as the pool/lake/beach tends to be our family’s go-to way to beat the heat. So I did a little bit of research, and I was thrilled to discover Beachfront Baby, a small, made in the USA company that sells soft baby wraps that are actually designed for use in the water! I contacted the company about a product review, and a week later we received their latest product – the Beachfront Baby Sling, new for 2014! (Note: Our sling was provided to us at no cost for purposes of this review, but as always, all opinions are my own, unbiased ones!)

The Beachfront Baby Sling is just as simple as any other ring sling – a single piece of fabric that attaches to a 2-ring buckle system. The hot weather secret lies in the fabric – a mesh-like, polyester jersey with 2 way stretch. The very lightweight material looks and feels like a little bit like a bathingsuit, though not nearly as stretchy. The “holey” mesh offers superior breathability on a hot and sweaty hike, as well as super fast drying after a morning dip in the pool.

I must admit that I initially didn’t picture the pool as an ideal place for babywearing…but that’s where we use this sling the most! It provides a safe and enjoyable way to interact with both kiddos in the water. I love that I can splash around hands-free with Big C while allowing Baby Z to explore her new watery world from the safety of Mommy’s chest! If we go when she is tired (likely), she is generally lulled to sleep instantly by all the water sounds.

As with any sort of babywearing apparatus, there is a learning curve when it comes to using it confidently by yourself. But step-by-step instructions were included in my package, and it didn’t take too long to figure it out. If there was one thing that could make this sling better, it would be to make it out of fabric that had built in SPF. Because Baby Z is still too young for sunscreen (and there are holes in the fabric,) I have to get creative sometimes to make sure she stays either in the shade or in my shadow. (But the extra tail on the sling is great for wrapping around little exposed legs!)

We’ve got a family beach trip planned in a month or so, and I can already tell that this sling will be perfect for hanging out on the beach and in the shallow surf! In the meantime, Beachfront Baby has generously offered free shipping for Cragmama readers in the US (and 10% off international shipping). The offer is good through the end of July, and all you have to do is enter “cragmama” when prompted to on the website.

What other babywearing solutions does your family rely on in hot weather? And what other strategies do you employ for managing multiple kiddos at the pool?

Cragmama’s Featured #KidCrushers – Issue 2

Climbing.

3 Comments.

Jun 19 2014

In case you are new around here, last month I started a new blog series that featured crag-kiddos out doing their thing. These #KidCrushers ranged in age from 11 months to 15 years, and hailed from climbing areas all over the country – NC, Utah, Idaho, Ohio…there were even entries from Spain, Norway, and South Africa! The response was so positive that I decided to make it a regular thing. And thanks to the kind folks at Flapjacked, this month’s winners won’t walk away empty-handed! So here’s what’s been going on in the world of #KidCrushers this month…

Here’s 2 year old Tyler toprope crushin’ at Rocky Face County Park (North Carolina.)

Micah C. cruising a boulder problem at Frozen Head State Park in Tennesee.

Teresa Delfin, founder of Mountain Mama: Expecting Adventure, as well as author of outdoor family blog Expecting Adventure, has not one but TWO kidcrushers featured in this issue! First up is Fausto, who just turned 6, looking especially stylish as he boulders!

Next is Teresa’s younger son, 2.5 year old EE, wrestling some pebbles at Riverside Quarry (California.)

Amelia and Dinah from Boulderdash Indoor Rock Climbing prove they can crush outdoors as well as indoors, climbing here at Stoney Point (California.)

Tough guy Kylan (also featured last month) took a nasty header in a talus field at Dierkes Lake (Idaho) on his first outdoor trip of the season. Luckily it was just a flesh wound. He seems to be taking it well!

The next two crushers were also featured last month, and happen to be brother and sister. First, 7 year old Guy on his very first mock trad lead, at Indian Creek (Utah.)

And younger sister, Ava, also crushing at the Creek. (And I’m lovin’ those leopard socks!!!)

There’s yet ANOTHER pair of siblings featured in this issue (you’d think climbing was a family activity or something…) These guys hail from Utah, and belong to fellow outdoor blogger Alyssa Erickson of The Kid Project. Here’s 7 year old “Bells” getting her first taste of Yosemite granite at Sunnyside Buttress.

And her 6 year old sister, “Abs”, on Jamcrack, also in Yosemite.

4 year old Sadie had a birthday request – a “real rock climbing day” with just mom and dad. Here she is on her very first pitch outdoors at Stone Mountain, NC!

And last, but certainly not least, here’s Jessica (11 year’s old) enjoying her very first multi-pitch climb, Upper Refuse (GRADE) at Cathedral Ledge, New Hampshire.

It was a tough decision, but we finally decided on some winners (the Crag-Daddy, Big C, and myself each chose our favorite.) Congratulations to EE from Riverside Quarry, Kylan from Dierkes Lake, and “Abs” from Yosemite! Parents, please email me your addresses so I can get your kiddos there prizes!

Speaking of prizes, each winner will receive a sample pack of Flapjacked Protein Pancake Mix (Banana Hazelnut, Cinnamon Apple, and Buttermilk, yum!) While these pancakes are delicious anytime, they are especially good for fueling up at camp before a day out on the rocks. Each serving contains 15-17 grams of protein and NOTHING artificial – all you have to do is mix with water and and toss onto the griddle! We got a chance to try some about a month ago while camping at Lake Keowee. We had some cooking mishaps with the first batch (“someone” had forgotten the spatula, and rather than bringing a legitimate camping stove we brought our backpack stove that tends to heat only in the middle of the pan….) Needless to say our first few pancakes came out a little rough, though no fault of the mix. But by the third batch or so (out of about 10…our pan was small) we got into a groove and our pancakes were yummy, albeit terribly misshapen from trying to flip them with a fork!

Once again, if you know someone who isn’t featured here, but SHOULD be, let me know! Email me a picture and caption at infoATcragmamaDOTcom, or simply tag your instagram photos using hashtag #Kidcrushers. Photos received by July 14th will be featured in a post at the end of the month. Happy crushing!

‘Hey Girl’ Memes for Climbing Mamas…

Climbing.

2 Comments.

Jun 15 2014

Unless youv’e been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you’ve probably seen a few Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” memes. (And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, click here.) Well, I had to laugh out loud last week when I was browsing through my RSS feeds and stumbled across a gem of a post from Brendan Leonard over at Semi-Rad.com – “‘Hey Girl’ Memes for Outdoorsy Women.” It kept a smile on my face the rest of the afternoon, and from the response on Cragmama’s facebook page, you all enjoyed it as well! Yet while Brendan’s memes were indeed “relatable” (his words), I found myself wanting to go even further for all of the outdoorsy (and more specifically, climbing) MOMS out there…

So here’s my stab at a few ‘Hey Girl’ memes of my own – dedicated to all the fellow cragmamas out there who are squeezing redpoint runs in between homework help and diaper changes. A girl can dream, right?

California heart throb Chris Lindner starts us off…

And of course you can’t throw a climbing meme party without inviting Chris Sharma, right?

It took me a while to find a sultry enough photo of Dean Potter, but this one from 2002 seems to fit the bill.

I had the opposite problem with the Huber Brothers photos, however…every image I found was over the top Fabio-esque.

What mama doesn’t love a photo that accentuates her best features? (Jimmy Chin)

And it was only fitting to choose a guy that lived out of his van for several years for this next one (Alex Honnold)…

While any of these statements would of course be absolutely ludicrous coming from a random person, I must give the Crag-Daddy a shout-out here. He was the inspiration for this post, since he has volunteered pretty much all of these at some point or another…although definitely not in so many words (I’m pretty sure he’s never once uttered the phrase ‘Hey Girl.’ And if he ever did with any sort of seriousness, I would probably break a rib from laughing so hard.) But yes, he’s definitely a keeper!

So ladies, what does YOUR man do that is meme-worthy? Don’t be afraid to let your crag-fantasies run wild 😉

Adventures at Landsford Canal State Park

Hiking. Travel Beta.

2 Comments.

Jun 11 2014

Although traveling far and wide for an adventure fix is always exciting, I for one am equally delighted to find fun places to explore that are close to home (ie, day-trippable for me and the kiddos mid-week.) Even though we’ve been in the Charlotte area for over 3 years now, I’m pleased that we are no where close to crossing off all of the interesting places to discover off of our list. One such place that had been on my radar for a while was Landsford Canal State Park. I’d found out about it last summer when we bought our kayak, but hadn’t had the chance to visit yet. This park’s claim to fame lies in the river that outlines it’s borders – one section boasts the largest known stand of Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies IN THE WORLD! Pretty cool, huh?!? Peak blooming season for these beauties is mid-May to early June, so last week another outdoor mama and I decided to check it out on a whim.

One of many breathtaking views along the Nature Trail

My first impression was about how beautiful and peaceful the setting was. Giant oaks and sweet gums towered over a lush, green space, with the Catawba River providing a stunning backdrop for an afternoon picnic! There are plenty of shaded picnic tables, as well as a nice playground. The main attraction is of course the river, which can be explored by boat or on foot. The rocky shoals provide kayakers with a few short sections of rapids that range from class I-III, depending on water levels. Hikers can enjoy a leisurely stroll along flat, kid-friendly terrain – the Canal Trail (1.25 miles, one-way) meanders through remnants of the historic tow path of the canal from the 1800’s, and connects to the half-mile Nature Trail that follows along the river, culminating in an overlook that offers a breathtaking view of the spider lilies.

Spider lilies in bloom!

We stayed almost all day, successfully working around 3 nursing sessions, 2 naps, and a few diaper changes here and there. It was the longest excursion I’ve done with both kiddos sans hubby, so I was pleased that we all came back in one piece (although there was a breaking point on the drive home when everyone in the car was melting down at once…) Meeting some friends out there made the day even more fun – Big C had some playmates, and I got to do cool things like talk to another grown-up and go to the bathroom without wearing Baby Z.

Amazingly, we got 6 people in one selfie…

Maybe next year at this time Baby Z will be big enough (and I’ll be brave enough!) to explore those spider lilies up close and personal in our kayak! But until then we’ll have to settle for shoreline fun. What new adventure destinations has your family explored recently?

The Latest in “Pre-hab” Products…and Giveaways Galore!

Gear Reviews.

8 Comments.

Jun 09 2014

As I’ve gotten ~~older~~ wiser, I’ve found myself more and more interested in “pre-hab,” meaning proactively doing something to prevent an injury BEFORE it happens. (This is opposed to REHAB, which is what you have to do to restore your body back to its original, healthy state AFTER an injury has occurred.) This could mean loosening tight muscles through trigger point massage, realigning the body through yoga or chiropractic care, or even just making the right nutritional choices to help your body refuel and rebuild. While a lot of pre-hab can be done without any extra pieces of equipment, our gear junkie family has found several products to be helpful in bringing our bodies back in balance after long climbing trips or logging a lot of miles on the bike/trail. Here’s a few of our favorites…

The GRID mini from TPT

FOAM ROLLER – I’m assuming most of you are familiar with the concept of a foam roller. If you’re not, the gist of it is that it enables the user to apply pressure to very specific tight spots (trigger points.) The pressure causes the muscles to release and relax. I use one regularly on my IT band, as running always makes it really tight, and if not kept under control seems to lead to hip/knee pain. Recently we got the chance to try out the GRID Mini, from Trigger Point Performance Therapy. I was a little skeptical at first because it seemed so small (it’s only 5 inches wide), but it works surprisingly well. And the best part is that it can go anywhere – it’s small enough to easily fit in a suitcase, and it’s completely hollow, so it can easily be strapped to the outside of a backpack as well!

ARMAID – This is not the first time I’ve sung the praises of this product (full review found here.) It’s basically a foam roller for your forearms (though hubby used it on a finger injury and swears up and down it helped, maybe from increasing blood flow to the area?) It’s very adjustable for different sized forearms as well as different amounts of pressure, and though oddly shaped, is easy to travel with because it seems to be pretty much indestructable. Any climber who has ever suffered from sore elbows and “perma-pumped” forearms NEEDS to have one of these waiting for you when you come home at night!

THERACANE – This is another must-have for climbers, as well as paddlers, backpackers, or even someone stuck behind a desk all day. This hook-shaped device enables the user to really dig into those lingering sore spots in the back and shoulders to release trigger points and relieve tight muscles. It takes a while to figure out how to best target your trouble spots, but once you do, you’ll want to use this every day!

POSTURE PLUS – Even though hubby and I don’t have any back problems, we jumped at the chance to try this product out. It looks sort of like a semi-hard foam cushion, and it supports your body in such a way that maintains correct posture and body alignment while you sit. It also engages the core muscles. Our verdict? Pretty darn comfortable to sit on! (And very easy to adjust for multiple users!)

STRESS ROLLER – Yet another self-massage tool (with all of these products available, it’s clear that keeping muscles loose and limber is a big part of pre-hab!) The stress roller is the most portable on this list. It’s basically two balls (out of the gutter, folks…) encased in a neoprene covering. It can be used pretty much anywhere on your body – standing on a wall with one roller on either side of my spine felt heavenly! It also worked really well on my glutes – all I had to do was sit on it while watching TV!

With the exception of the Posture Plus (it’s on the chair in the office), all of these products reside upstairs beside the TV so we can break them out whenever we’re just hanging out. Some of them (in particular the Armaid and Theracane) actually get tossed into the Craggin’ Wagon on a regular basis so we can pass them around the campfire at the end of a long day on the rocks (reading that makes me realize how geriatric our family sounds…but I’m far too old to care, because these products work!!!)

But whether you are old as dirt or just a spring chicken, pre-hab is a good idea. So that’s why I’m excited about all of these giveaways! The good folks at Trigger Point Performance are offering up a GRID Mini Roller, and the Back Joy is generously giving away a Posture Plus AND Stress Roller package! All you have to do is enter via the two Rafflecopter widgets (one for each prize) below any time from now until Monday, June 16th at midnight EST. ADDITIONALLY, Back Joy is offering a FREE Posture Plus SitSmart for the first 500 folks to take the #PosturePledge challenge (and as of last week there were still 340 left to give away, so your odds are pretty good!) If you know anything about social media, taking the pledge is a cinch, and instructions can be found here at this link.

In the meantime, I’d love to know what everyone else thinks of these products if you’ve tried them…as well as any other novelties we should add to our “prehab closet!”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Review: Beachfront (and Poolside!) Babywearing

Cragmama’s Featured #KidCrushers – Issue 2

‘Hey Girl’ Memes for Climbing Mamas…

Adventures at Landsford Canal State Park

The Latest in “Pre-hab” Products…and Giveaways Galore!